Modric finishes ahead of tennis players Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep
Thursday 27 December 2018 21:09, UK
Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has been named Balkan athlete of the year.
Modric won the Champions League with Real Madrid and then led Croatia to the World Cup final in July, where the midfielder was voted player of the tournament.
He also won the prestigious Ballon d'Or for the first time earlier in December.
Men's tennis world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia was second in the Balkan poll, and the Women's number one, Romania's Simona Halep, was third.
Djokovic increased his haul of Grand Slam titles to 14 with wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year, and Halep won the French Open to claim her first career Grand Slam title.
The poll is organised by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and included the national news agencies of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.
